Silver and Gold: the Citadel of the Seven Suns
by AlabrithGaiamoon
Summary: 3rd and final part of Silver&Gold. The Tantei, after two years of peace, are called together again for another Dark Tournament of Bclasses and up. The fight is staged atop a mysterious, ancient floating island, and a conspiracy takes place within.
1. New Life, Same Trouble

Thus begins the third and final saga of Gabrielle and Kurama. Please forgive the wait; but if you never liked it to begin with, why are you reading this? Happy belated Valentine's day!

Chapter 1

New Life, Same Trouble

Koenma sat at his desk, sighing tiredly. 'Stamp, flip, stamp, flip…' It was a dull day; it had been agonizingly boring between the three realms for nearly six months. No one had tried to puncture a hole into Ningenkai or destroy and/or take over the world for such a long time; the tiny ruler began to miss the excitement.

The remaining four Tantei had gone on to pursue their personal lives with vigor the past two years; Kuwabara was an apprentice veterinarian, so kind and knowledgeable with animals of all sizes. Kurama helped with his stepfather's software company, and pursued being a private eye, never ceasing his desire to exercise his wits and serve justice. Yusuke made a bold choice in career; he wanted to be a teacher. The former delinquent was in training to teach other delinquents that fell astray. Hiei, as always, protected his sister from afar and managed cases from Koenma when no one else could.

The princeling had had little contact with the shaman youko in Reikai, never needing her abilities, only checking up on her every once in a while. She, like the four others, had grown dear to him, though he would never admit it for professional reasons. His Tantei were also his friends- "Koenma sir!" George the ogre interrupted his musing.

"What is it, ogre? Something exciting for once, or have you dared to disturb me with some useless information again?" Koenma griped half-heartedly.

"There's been an urgent report of soul-sucking oni in the human realm!"

"Really? How entertaining- I mean-unfortunate…"

Botan flew on her oar alongside the four Tantei as they charged down a path in the park. "There are some oni reported in the woods, having attacked and taken captive a number of ningen and are on the run towards the mountains," the ferry-girl, mounted on her oar, filled them in as they ran.

"How many?" Kurama asked, like the others, still dressed for work in slacks and a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled back. "Five in all," Botan replied. Kuwabara still had his lab jacket on, and his hair was cut shorter in front; like Yusuke's, but shorter so it stuck up a little. Hiei wore his usual garb; while Yusuke had his hair un-gelled, and wore an uncharacteristic necktie.

The five came upon a clearing where a campsite had once been. The poles to a nylon tent were snapped into hundreds of pieces, perhaps under the huge feet of the oni. The cooler lay open with food strewn about, and the fire had long since died of neglect. All around in the dirt were footprints and marks that something had been dragged: a sign of a struggle. "They are not far ahead of us," Kurama deduced, "the ice from the cooler has not melted completely."

"We don't have far to go then!" Yusuke said, but Kuwabara interrupted him.

"Guys, the human foot prints- I see two adult sized, and the other three are really small."

"So they've collected a bunch of children for a snack," Hiei sniffed, "easier to remove the souls from a smaller body."

"We'd better quicken our pace, then." Kurama replied and took off in the direction of the oni tracks. The others followed the trail of crunched undergrowth and massive footprints in the mud. "Not even oni are this clumsy, the trail seems almost too obvious," the redhead commented.

The trees spread apart in a small glade in front of a cave, two towering figures stood over five huddled humans, staring up at their captors. The oni were much the same as Goki, the first soul-eating oni Yusuke met; tall, ugly, brawny, and horns on their foreheads.

"Which one should we eat first?" one of them said.

"I think the old ones would be best;" the other replied, "that way as their whelp watch, their souls should be good and marinated in fear!"

"Good idea!"

Yusuke aimed both of his index fingers at the back of each oni's head, "Reigun!" The two oni's toppled forwards on their faces. "Yusuke," Kurama began, "Didn't Botan say there were _five_ oni?"

SLAM!! Six fists crashed into the back of the Tantei's necks; they staggered in different directions, but the blow was not enough to stop them. They turned to the other three oni in battle stances. "We have to get the captives away from them, before they get hurt!" Yusuke said.

"Save me an oni," Hiei growled and in an instant, he was gone. He relocated the five trembling humans into the trees above. Oni were no challenge for the Tantei, and they were dealt with, either killed or in handcuffs. Botan had the memories of the ningen campers erased and altered to explain their annihilated campsite.

The Tantei watched from the trees as the five ningen wandered back into their camp; apparently back after a walk… "It was bears, I knew it!" the youngest boy of the children cried, showing his mother a picture of animal tracks in his Cub Scout book. "Mama, they ate all our sandwiches and wrecked our tent!!" he continued, rubbing his fists in his eyes in sorrow.

The mother wrapped her arms around her son, "It's alright honey; this just means we can sleep under the stars tonight."

"And I can show you how to gut a fish!" the father interjected enthusiastically, "Now, we'll be fishing with a passion!" The mother laughed as the three children exchanged looks of disgust.

"Hey Kurama," Yusuke whispered, "You said your mother had invited us all to dinner; shouldn't we get going?"

The redhead snapped out of his daydream, staring at the young boy and his mother fondly. "Yes, and we're already late!" he cried, racing off in the opposite direction. Yusuke crooked his finger at Hiei, who had been trying to sidle off, "You too," while Kuwabara followed suit.

The four were somewhat laid-back, yet a thought in the back of their minds kept them in edge. "We really haven't had a lot of cases from Koenma." Yusuke said, thinking aloud, "I wonder why…but something wasn't right about this case."

"I got the same impression," Kuwabara agreed, "I mean, I know we've all gotten a helluva lot stronger than when we were when we first started doing this, but that was _way_ too damn simple."

"Keep in mind," Kurama pointed out, "That oni don't think things through; they _are_ very simple."

"I don't like it!" Hiei hissed, gripping the hilt of his sword. "There's something not right here, my Jagan can sense it."

They piled into Kurama's car to drive the long distance to his parents' house, but when they got there, Kurama pulled up short and jumped out of his car. The other three stared at him, "Kurama, what's wrong?" Yusuke finally asked after the redhead stood for several minutes, sniffing the wind outside the gates to the mansion his stepfather owned. He finally ran into the gates and to the house, a feeling of dread in his heart.

Something was very wrong; the front windows of the house were smashed in, and the front door hung open on one hinge at a precarious angle. Kurama burst in the door of his parents' house, "Mother!" he called into the waiting darkness. "Little Suichi! Joe! (I decided to name him 'cause I didn't know his stepfather's name.)" He flipped on the light and gasped. The whole house looked like it had been ripped through by a thunderstorm. Furniture had been ripped apart and thrown into the walls; there were burn marks on the carpet and ceiling, the remains of what might have been dinner were splattered across the kitchen and dining room, along with piles of shattered glass and china.

The others slowly followed the redhead as he darted through the house searching for his family. 'The upstairs had not been touched, this was only a violent abduction, not a raid,' he thought. 'That means they haven't been murdered; only kidnapped. They may be alive, held captive somewhere.'

"Kurama," Yusuke came up behind him as he stood on the landing of the stairs. "What the hell happened here?"

"They're gone, Yusuke. The only question is, why?"

"That's why." Hiei said, pointing to a black envelope that had been carefully positioned on the dining room table. Inside were videotape and a number of tickets. "From the kidnapper?" Yusuke asked.

"Has to be," Kurama took the tape to Yusuke's house to use his VCR, and put the tape in. They saw no face, but heard a voice. "Hello, Suichi Minamino; or would you rather be addressed by your youkai name, considering it is youkai you are now dealing with?" Kurama knit his brow marginally in annoyance.

The screen flickered from static to a dark room with three rather fine, antique wing backed-chairs in it. On each of the chairs sat the three kidnapped members of his family. They were staring about the empty black room, looking rather frightened and shaky. Shiori's shirtsleeve was torn, little Suichi had his right arm in a sling, and Joe had a black eye and a cut lip. Kurama growled audibly, which made the others stare at him in fear; Kurama _never_ showed his most powerful feelings.

"Your family is, for the most part, safe and sound. But whether they remain that way is entirely up to you. They will be cared for like royalty during their time as my hostages, unless you do something to displease me; one or all of them could lose an appendage, or their life. But enough of the drama," the screen switched from the family to a far-off picture of a floating island, "This is the Citadel of the Seven Suns, a floating land in Reikai, also the place hosting the next Dark Tournament. I know you can put two and two together; you and your comrades must compete in the tournament eight weeks from now, or you _and_ your family will die." The screen switched again to a scene of the four fighters in a void of darkness, it was an artificial image; they each made expressions of pain as blood gushed from deep cuts that appeared in their skin.

"If you try to escape, I _will_ find you, just as I found your family, and your darkest secrets, Kurama. This is no ordinary tournament either, only youkai of class B and up will be permitted to even set foot on the Citadel to compete..." The tape cut off and the screen turned to static.

Yusuke went into a ranting, cursing storm, "Fck, sht, damn it to hell, damn it all to the fcking asshole of hell!! How the hell are we supposed to get to a flying island?!"

"Look, genius," Hiei shoved the tickets into his face, "These are _boat_ tickets; we obviously sail and go from there."

Yusuke took the tickets from Hiei and stared at them, a fearful realization hitting him. "There are _four_ of us, but they gave us _five_ tickets. We need a fifth member."

Kurama collapsed onto Yusuke's couch, him having sharing his home with his still-irresponsible mother to take care of her. "Who can we get to be our fifth member?" Yusuke asked aloud.

A pop resounded in the room and the tiny ruler of Reikai appeared in midair. "Yusuke, we have a solution to the dilemma." Koenma said. "I've been watching you from Reikai, and of course, the next person to take the place of the fifth fighter is…"

An old wound in Kurama's heart opened as his thought were instantly fixed in his mind's-eye image of Gabrielle, the long-unemployed shaman he was fallen in love with and refused to interact with. His gaze rose desperately to Koenma's, prepared to plead with him to be released from the situation.

"Botan."


	2. The Citadel of the Seven Suns

Chapter 2

The Citadel of the Seven Suns

"What the _hell_?!" Yusuke cried; Kurama's mouth hung open in shock. "_Botan_?" Kurama repeated.

"Yes, Botan," the princeling reiterated; holding his hands behind his back professionally. "I'm confident that you four will be more than enough to win each round without her help; and even if she does get hurt, should she dies, her soul will instantly transported back to Reikai and into a new body."

"You can do that?" Kuwabara whispered in awe.

"'Course I can! She's a ferry for lost souls, she has to be _dependable_."

"But Koenma, why choose Botan?" Yusuke cut in, "Why not Genkai, or Ga-"

"Genkai made a wish before that she never wanted to participate in the Dark Tournament ever again..."

"But what about Ga-"

"Well, solonggottago!" Koenma sputtered before he disappeared with another pop

The raven-haired man sighed, "Back to training…what a bummer. I wanted to kick back for a while more."

"Perhaps your fighting spirit would remember itself better if you trained like never before." Hiei commented quietly, while unwrapping the ward around his right arm.

"DAMN IT, NOT HERE!!"

"Yusuke, don't you dare try and skip out on me to another one of those awful tournaments!" Keiko slammed the front door of the building shut behind her.

Yusuke was being tailed by Keiko on the way out of his apartment to go train with Genkai, when he stopped and gave her a hard stare. "Keiko, you _cannot_ come with me this time."

"But Yus-!" he pressed his finger over her mouth. "No. Absolutely not. There are going to be youkai there as strong as Togoro, and none weaker. Not even Shizuru can punch her way through them. I will not allow you the opportunity to get caught in the backlash of collateral damage."

Keiko fought to argue back, searching for some reason that would make her necessary to come with him. "Y-Yusuke…" she whispered, her bangs hiding the tears welling up in her eyes.

"You have to stay because I need to ask you something later. I'm not sure how I can ask you, though."

"Ask me-?"

"Later." He cut her off, brushing her bangs back to kiss her forehead. He turned, but stopped and whirled around again. He snatched her feminine-style high school ring off her finger and streaked away. Keiko gasped and screamed after him angrily.

"YUSUKE, GIVE THAT BACK, YOU JERK!!"

"YOU'LL GET IT BACK, KEIKO!!" he hollered over his shoulder with a grin.

Keiko was furious; she understood why he had taken her ring. It was a reason for him to come back to her; what made her angry was that he was too good at making her laugh and deflate her indignation whenever she chastised him. She giggled genuinely and turned to go back inside.

So the Tantei began the gauntlet of training- again! Kurama was hard pressed, between supporting his own job and Joe's so no one would know he was missing, training, and worrying about his family. More than once he came off as cold and stoic, but not one of them held any grudge; each of them knew the torture of not being able to protect others. Too soon the days wore away and in the twilight of autumn, as it gave way to winter in November, the four once again assembled and prepared for their destination.

Yusuke walked down the street, empty and silent in the dead of night. He shouldered a small pack over his jacket, breathing out fog in the cold. His eyes were sharp, alert, focused. His stride was strong and controlled, patiently waiting a chance unleash. He crossed Kuwabara on the intersecting street and the carrot-top turned and started walking beside his friend. The taller young man was also calm on the outside, carrying his own bag and walking with silent pride. The two felt a third presence with no feeling of surprise. As the two passed a darkened alley, Kurama materialized from the darkness, aware of everything around him at all times. The redhead turned his back towards the darkness and fell into step beside the others. Above their heads, a shadow flitted through the sky and across rooftops. The shadow vaulted into the sky, cutting through the air like the blade at his belt. With the grace of a feather, he landed softly on two feet, knelt to the ground. He straightened as his comrades split apart to make room in their formation for him. Hiei blended into the darkness, almost invisible in his black robe.

Having walked into battle like this many times before, they knew there were no words to be said, or any reason to break the silence, for fear it would break their will. Battle and struggle were their blood and breath; existence was impossible without the balance between peace and war. Long ago they had accepted they would live from fight to fight; cherishing the peace between struggles, and praising the powers that be each time they survived. Those with strength were always cursed with the need to be strong, stronger, and strongest, to protect those with no strength, whether they were strangers or familiar, loved ones or petty rivals. To give up was to accept decay, death, shame, and restless guilt.

A sliver of light made an arc across the street, creating a portal; the Tantei passed through it, feeling a slight displacement of air around them before passing completely through. A salty breeze blasted in their faces, violently tugging at their clothes and hair. Metal posts supported electric lights that illuminated the night. On the rocky beach a familiar, dingy freighter bobbed in the choppy seas beyond. They recognized it as the boat from before the previous tournament. The dark beach was overcrowded with youkai of all shapes, sizes, and colors; all of them pushing forward towards the boat. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of youkai were trying to get into the boat. But what was stopping them?

The four were suddenly aware of a flickering light around the ship, like a giant, glowing bubble. From the distance they could just make out the shapes of flying youkai trying to land on the boat. They were rejected by the invisible shield, which flashed briefly as they were electrocuted and sent spinning to the ground. "There's a Kakai barrier around the boat." Kurama deduced. "Only it lets the strongest youkai in and keeps the weaker ones out. Could so many people want to fight that badly in the Tournament?"

"The boat is going to leave before we can get on!" Yusuke shouted irritably, punching a weaker youkai out of the way.

"Let's make some room then!" Kuwabara said, cracking his knuckles eagerly. The four sent dozens of youkai flying as they inched closer to the dock; it only took three wild-fires and a Shotgun to send them scrambling out of the way, clawing each other apart to get past. They had a clear path in seconds, but they were not alone. The four were calmly tailed by at least four score of fighters through the Kakai barrier.

The captain of the ship, surly and ugly as ever, took their tickets, looking at them against the moonlight. "Arr, these be real. Welcome aboard, maties!"

"Why so many formalities?" Kurama asked the one-eyed dwarf, gesturing to the barriers.

"Too many yellah-bellied weaklings wantin' ter be in the Tournament. They're weedin' 'em out real thorough this year! Still got some weedin' left to do, so don't you get none too comfy, ya hear beauty? Yar har har har!" the old man cackled raucously. Yusuke rolled his eyes and flipped the old man off when he turned his back to them.

"Hey, Yusuke! Hellooo there!" a voice sang out. Botan spiraled down from the sky on her oar to meet them. She landed on the deck dressed in her casual clothes; jeans and a hoodie with her backpack on her shoulders. "I've been looking for you every where!" she said, smiling, "if it weren't for your reigun, I never would have spotted you!"

"How did _you_ get on this boat, onna?" Hiei sneered, "You are no fighter."

"Power does not lie in strength alone, Hiei." she replied with a smirk, twirling her oar before vanishing it. "But you're right about one thing, I'm no fighter; I'm a healer, though limited, and a ferry girl. But a lady also has her tricks!" Botan flashed a cat-like grin.

And so they played the waiting game; the ship cast off as the chilly night wore away, emphasized by the freezing winds and icy mists of the sea. The sky had been overcast, blocking out the light of the stars and the moon. There was darkness all around them, bobbing around in the inky waters. The five stayed close together in the night, like many of the other groups, clustered with their allies and separate from any potential enemies. After hours of freezing silence, the sky opened up and they saw the east growing lighter. Above the sea on the horizon was a dark shape, and as it grew closer, the Tantei saw that it was a floating island; the Citadel of the Seven Suns.

The main island was incredibly vast, about twenty miles across, and surrounded by seven smaller, mile-length islands seemingly tethered to the center by wreathes of clouds. Smaller fragments that had eroded away stayed trapped in the air between them; from the size of a man to the size of a house. The top of the island was over-flowing with trees and plants, some even clinging to the sides of the rocky roots of the island. The bottom of the land stretched down in stone stalactites, literally, the roots of the land. In the morning sun, the mists sparkled, accented by the lush, green mountain peaks that peeked through them. A shield –like web of clouds cradled the entire floating country hundreds and hundreds of feet above them, almost completely protected from sight by an inert hurricane.

"This is another test that youkai who wish to compete have to pass," the captain said over the PA system of the ship, the passengers still in awe of the magnificent island, "if you can get from the boat to the island, you are assured of a place in the Dark Tournament."

"How are we going to do that?" Yusuke asked. The captain shrugged with a wry grin, "That's your problem, not mine," he said.

"I believe I can help you there," Botan said, "You can hang onto my oar and I'll fly us up!"

"Botan…!" Yusuke started in an annoyed voice, which soon turned to joy, "That's _genius_!" He had seized her around the shoulders and shook her slightly. "Finally; a use for your stupid paddle that isn't to beat me upside the head with it!!"

"Please put me down…" she said meekly, eyeing him like a lunatic.

Kurama however was a bit concerned. "But can you take more than one person with you?"

"Pppp!" Botan made a puttering sound with her lips, and swatted the air as if to knock away the notion, "No problem, my oar was designed to carry several score, even hundreds, of souls that go astray at the same time. Just hang on." She flicked her wrist and her oar appeared in her hand.

A crowd had formed a ring several meters wide around the team; the remaining competitors were gazing longingly at her oar. "Back off!! She's with us!" Hiei growled, laying his hand on his katana. The other youkai around them began to move closer.

Botan quickly mounted her oar, "Jump on!" she cried, desperate to get away from the other competitors. Hiei leapt up beside the ferry-girl, crouching on the wooden rod; Kurama grabbed a hold of the paddle with one hand and Yusuke with the other, while Kuwabara desperately clung to Yusuke's foot. Botan shot up, and up; a blur against the side of the floating isle. Once out of reach of the boat, she slowed down to keep from whipping her passengers off, and steadily spiraled upwards around the island. After what seemed like hours, really only twenty minutes Botan finally deposited her load on solid ground.

The five looked over the edge at the boat retreating to the horizon. "What's really disturbing is how many tests we had to pass; it makes you wonder, how strong are the other fighters here?" Kuwabara thought out loud.

"And if our preparation was enough?" Kurama added. The others shivered; praying all they had done would last.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Hullo, please pardon the wait. I kept questioning whether or not I wanted to continue writing this, I've been so uncertain with my writing lately trying to please and appeal to everyone. Well, what could be worse than just doing my best?


	3. Scattered Bearings

Greetings! I'm sorry I haven't updated in several months; it was close to the end of the school year, the time when they just pile project and tests on seniors. I haven't even had time to read other fics or any sort of recreation; so I've been trying to relax and get my circadian rhythm back in order. I'm going to enroll in college soon, but I don't want to keep neglecting my writing. I'll do my best for you!

Chapter 3

Scattered Bearings

"So where exactly are we on the island?" Yusuke asked, trying to pierce the mists around them with his eyes.

"I think we're on one of the smaller, surrounding islands- or _sky_lands, I should say." Botan answered, "I tried to get closer to the mainland, but I felt an air current that kept pushing my spirit energy away; I suspect it may have been a barrier- another test."

"Well we can't stay here if we want to fight in the tournament!"

"Why don't we take a look around and get our bearings?" Kurama suggested, already ten feet up a nearby tree. Hiei, farther up the same tree could barely be heard scoffing to himself.

"I can see the skyline from here; this miserable little spit of rock is barely one quarter of a mile across at its widest point."

Feeling a little useless and out of place Botan floated up beside him to see for herself. "The mainland is over that direction, to the south," she pointed out, determined to be helpful.

Irked, Hiei snapped at her, "I don't need _your_ help to see that, _onna_! I've got three eyes that are _much_ better than yours!"

"Well I wasn't talking to you then, was I?" she snapped back, "Ever think of that, or did you trade your _brain_ for that _third eye_?" Sniffing indignantly, she turned her back to him with her nose in the air and quickly dropped back to the ground just as Hiei took a swing at her head with his sword.

With some members glaring silently at each other, the five quickly made it to the edge of the sky-land and gaped at the distance before them; at least another quarter mile of open air hung between the floating land masses. "What are we supposed to do now?!" Yusuke whined, "I can't jump that far, and our little _butterfly_ here says the island won't let her in.

Kurama looked around for a moment, gathering information with his eyes to fuel his brain. The edges of all of the floating landscapes were roughed up and the eroded chunks were floating at about the same level. "I wonder…" he said aloud, capturing Hiei's and Botan's attention for sneering and glaring at each other. "I wonder if it is possible to travel along the many smaller rocks, which surround everything, to the mainland."

"It's worth a shot, I guess," Yusuke said, prodding Botan. "Go check it out, will ya? If you end up falling, you can use your oar to catch yourself."

"Now wait a minute," she started backing away, "There aren't even enough rocks to walk on between here and there! Don't you think throwing me off is being a little rash?"

"You want some more rocks?" Kuwabara began cracking his knuckles, "I'll get you some rocks. Stand back every body, and let a _man_ do his work!" With his extremely strong arms and fists protected by his own reiki, he began pulverizing the edge of the little landscape into a trail of airborne stepping stones. They drifted outwards on their own, as if guided, in a rough line touching the edge of the mainland.

Botan turned white and gulped. Slowly, carefully she stepped on the edge of the land and put her other foot on a rock. When it felt firm enough to hold, she leaned the rest of her weight on it and stood on two feet. She jumped slightly to test it, jarring its position and nearly shaking herself off with a shriek, but it held. "It's okay," she called back to the others, "It won't fall."

"Alright!" Yusuke cried, slapping the ferry girl a high five as he jumped past her, "Let's go find where ever we're staying the night!" The other four members of the Tantei flew past her, being much more athletic than she.

"Hey, wait!" she cried, making only small jumps between the closer rocks. "Don't leave me here; I can't make some of these jumps!" Botan sniffed and tried to jump ahead, but only managed to hit the edge of the rock with her abdomen, cling desperately while her legs dangle off the edge. "Woah! Somebody help please! Assistance!!" she cried, stopping short at the sound of a snort. Looking down at her from the top of the stone was Hiei, his hands in his pockets and a look of contempt on his face.

"If you're going to be helpless and get in the way, at least don't do it when we have any battles." he sneered, pulling her up by one hand and pulling her arms over his shoulders to wrap around his neck. "I'm warning you now, if you don't hang on and fall off, I'm not turning around again to get you. Got it?" his voice full of annoyance and malice.

Thoroughly scared that her life (not to mention the back of her thighs) were in the hands of a man who hated her, she obediently nodded. "O-okay, Hiei." And with that, he sped along the trail to catch up with the others. Botan tried to look anywhere but at Hiei, however he took up most of her vision so she stubbornly closed her eyes. For a few seconds she even relaxed her body a bit and sighed against his shoulder. When they had caught up, Yusuke was staring intently at Hiei.

"What the hell are you staring at, detective?" the fire youkai growled. Yusuke shook his head a little bit, shrugging.

"Nothing, your face just looked really red for a moment." He and the others turned their attention back to finding the Tournament stadium and the hotel they were to stay in.

They traveled on for several hundred yards before Botan worked up enough speak again. "Um, Hiei?"

"What?" he almost barked at her.

"You can put me down now."

"…Hn. You'll just slow us down if I do."

"Hiei?"

"_What?_"

"We're just walking right now."

"…Hn." He released his grip on her, both of them feeling slightly chilled were their body warmth had connected. Botan caught herself rubbing her arms sadly and then stopped, 'What the hell? Missing touching Hiei?!' They were very quiet for the next hour it took to find the next signs of civilization.

Their hotel was a five-star building with a carefully tended garden around the premise, but no signs of any sort of road leading anywhere else. They were greeted at the door and ushered towards the check-in counter by two low-class oni, identifying them specifically by a reiki analyzer that looked akin to a metal detector. This was yet another filter to keep weaker demons out.

As they approached the counter, a clerk, who was a youkai resembling an oversized gibbon in a red uniform, addressed them with an expression like they were something unpleasant to be stepped in, "Do you have a reservaaaation?" he dragged out.

Yusuke, leader of their fighting group, stepped forwards. "Um, no I guess we never got around to that part. No body told us we needed to do anything."

"I am afraid I cannot help you then sirrrr," the furry youkai said disdainfully, "we are booked ssssolid for the Tournament and cannot put you up."

"Wait, last time we were at the Dark Tournament, someone was hosting for us because we were _forced_ to come! Can't you at least double-check for us?" Yusuke's voice became louder as he got angrier.

"Sir, _I neveeeer_ forget any reservation or room lodging; We. Are. Full! You shall have to seek board elsewheeeere!"

Yusuke was cracking his knuckles, causing the clerk to turn pale beneath his fur and sweat, when Kuwabara put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. "Just chill, Urameshi, we'll think of something else-"

"Did you say Urameshiiii?" the gibbon youkai said timidly, fumbling beneath the counter for the log book.

"Yeah, my name's Yusuke Urameshi. So what?"

"I tooold you, I never forget aaaany reservation or lodging! There is a five room suite reseeeerved for the team of a Mr. Urameshi."

"Huh? Who made a reservation for us? Was it Koenma?" Yusuke asked curiously confused.

"The person wished to remain anonymous, but if any clue was to be given, it was from 'an old friend of Yusuke's.'" he said, sliding the room key towards the confused five.

"Works for me," Yusuke said and tossed the key in the air to himself, leading the others away towards the elevator on the stair landing. "I don't see nothing wrong with that."

"I don't like it, Urameshi," Kuwabara said. "This just doesn't feel right. Remember, weird people from the teams we fought snuck into our room last time."

"Relax, you big baby. Here, Botan, you take the key; you're good at keeping up with things." Yusuke said and discreetly hung back from the group on the landing to the grand staircase, sensing something… it couldn't be…

"Urameshi!!" a familiar voice cried. Jin gave him his usual greeting of flying into him and trying to knock his skull off. "Jin!" Yusuke smiled, "Are you competing in the Dark tournament again?"

"Aye; wouldn't miss it for the world!" the redhead's pointy ears were twitching with glee. "You wouldn't believe who me team is!!" Jin grinned from ear to ear and dragged Yusuke away through the air. He stopped and looked around; "Me lost her… where'd the lass go?"

"Who?" Yusuke asked. Jin dropped to the ground, his expression strangely thoughtful and quiet, "Someone you know, but… she's different, she changed herself. I know where to find her!" and the Windmaster flew away with Yusuke in tow. Jin burst through the door to his team's hotel room and dropped Yusuke on the floor next to Touya.

"Hey, Touya, whuzzup?" Yusuke greeted. Touya nodded and smiled back, returning to a book he was reading. Jin was yelling in the other rooms, searching for someone, "LASS!! LASS, WHERE YA BE, YA BLONDIE!!" Touya sighed and shook his head.

"Could you _please_ tell me who is on your team?" Yusuke asked the ice youkai in an annoyed tone, "Jin couldn't hold himself together enough to give me a straight answer."

"Our team consists of Jin, myself, two youko vixens; Rinku and Chu are still quarreling over which of them will play the role of the back-up sixth player." Touya recited nonchalantly.

The door, which had been left wide open, was soon occupied; the figure entered the room and looked over at Yusuke, who had his back turned towards her. "Yusuke?" a soft voice called. He whipped around at the sound of a chillingly familiar voice and was tackled. "Yusuke!!" a blonde-haired, green-eyed girl hugged him, grinning.

"Holy hell! What the-" he pulled the waterfall of gold back to get a good look at her. Gabrielle smiled at him, literally glowing with joy. Her white poncho hung over the hips of her dark-blue wide-legged pants, complete with silk scarves tied into her hair. Though he had greatly missed his friend, all he could say was, "You grew your hair out!" She laughed; Yusuke was stunned at the sight of her hair, which had grown long enough to sit on. Gabrielle was always so conservative with her hair, yet it suited her; it made her look free in a way. The thought was pushed away as questions flooded inside him faster than his mouth could let them out. "What are you- why have you-what's…Where the hell have you been? You dropped off the face of the world for two fricking years!!" Yusuke cried suddenly hurt and angry.

Gabrielle had anticipated this, and held herself with dignity; she glanced over at Touya, who nodded and left the room to keep Jin from barging in. "You have to understand, after Daren died, I inherited everything from him; I had to leave and take care of it all. I understand why you would be mad-"

"Mad? Hell yes, but more than that, we all missed you and were worried for you; you were … so _frail_ when you left, and Koenma never said a word. He avoided bringing you into any subject, especially when we needed a fifth teammate for the Tournament."

"He didn't tell you …because I am already on another team, with Jin and Touya."

Yusuke was speechless. She took advantage of the silence and continued. "I was obligated to enter; there are other shamans here that are in danger. There's a person competing here who wants to use them for something, something bad. Its kind of a complex story," she sighed and flopped down on the couch. Yusuke tactfully closed the open front door and threw himself down in a chair across from her.

"I assume you've been told that your room and board was provided by someone else?" she asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "The monkey in the suit said it was 'an old friend.'"

"Yes," she said shyly, lacing her fingers together in a way that meant she was keeping something from him, "That's me."

"You? But why? How?"

"I'm sort of… filthy stinkin' rich."

"WHAT?!"

"I guess I should start from the beginning. I've been, as I said, managing Daren's stuff (and he has a _lot_ of stuff!), including communication with his old allies, financing, and diplomacy with the surrounding territories- crap like that. I finally got some time to myself after about a year, so I decided to go on a short journey to explore Reikai by myself. In only a few weeks I reached an ocean and saw the Floating Island; it was just drifting under the cliff I was standing on, flying pretty low, so I jumped on, aided by the swarms of gulls so I wouldn't get killed. I walked around and saw the construction for the stadium for the Dark Tournament and I stepped on a memory imprinted in the ground."

"It was something from a sponsor; he was funding the entire Tournament, and sponsoring a mysterious youkai called the Ragged Raven. I didn't quite get the whole picture, just his thoughts at the moment, but there was no doubt it was perilous; I had to come; the day after I returned to the castle, I received a black tape and tickets for the Dark Tournament." She looked down at her hands, which were shaking slightly, "I could have just as easily not found that memory. I could have blown the whole Tournament off and never see you again…"

Yusuke remained silent, digestion the information. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Gabi… when I asked Touya who was on the team, he said him, Jin, Chu, Rinku, and two vixen youkos." The raven headed fighter stared at her hard for almost a minute, while she carefully examined her sandals. Frowning, he continued, "This is the part where you fill me in on the gaps."

"I thought Koenma would surely tell you when I first left," she murmured almost inaudibly. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you." From under her wild, rose-gold curls, a pair of fox ears straightened out, and Yusuke finally noticed a tail flicking back and forth behind her.

"How could you keep something like that from me? After we've been friends for so long?!" Yusuke stood up in indignation, not happy he had reunited with her at all.

"I didn't know either!!" she cried, rising to meet his gaze with a glare. "I would tell you _anything_, Yusuke. I trust you; you _know_ I do! But, that night we went off to fight Morpheus, I thought I was a human, but Daren's journal opened up my past life to me and-" she threw her hands up in defeat, "everything I had ever known was turned upside down." She flopped back on the couch and hugged her knees feebly. "I had to realize so many things, like I was living a lie before, or something. I was so scared of the people I cared about then! They'd all just think I had lied to them for so long. I'd rather disappear then have you and everyone else hate me…" Gabrielle covered her head with her arms and buried her face in her knees.

Yusuke sighed; "You know that would never happen. How could you even think that? Jin and Touya still seem to like you; and I'm really insulted, but I'm _still_ your friend." He pulled a strand of her hair out of her eyes to look at her. "I'm sorry, Yusuke," she whispered.

"Its okay, Gabi... You wanna go see the others?"

"Nah," she shook her head. "None of them would want to see me; especially since we're competitors now."

"Do you want me to tell them?"

"I suppose it wouldn't matter; they would still feel the same; especially Kurama."

"All right, I won't tell them then, though I suspect Botan knows, and she can't keep her mouth shut forever." Yusuke said as he exited; Gabrielle stopped him and hugged him again, "It was still great to see you again, Yusuke." He hugged her back, tangling himself in her hair, "Yeah, but I still can't get used to all this hair."

"Maybe that's why you love Keiko, 'cause she has short hair! Have you proposed to her yet?" the blonde giggled.

"Oh, shut up."


	4. Testy and Testing

Back from Hiatus. Glad to be writing again, even if all have forgotten me. TT_TT

Chapter 4

Testy and Testing

Yusuke found his way lazily to the hotel suite his teammates shared. As he entered, he swept past Kurama on the couch. The redhead's eyes grew wide as he caught the scent wafting off of him. He leapt up silently, "Where is she?" he demanded in a soft, dangerous voice. Yusuke froze, not turning to face him, "Botan's in the lobby."

Kurama grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around, "Where is _Gabrielle_?" he growled, his hair bleeding silver at an alarming rate.

"You won't find her; she doesn't want to talk to you."

Kurama growled warningly, a mist surrounding him. Yusuke looked fearlessly back at him as the transformation completed. It became apparent that the fox could not scare the information out of him; Youko spun on his heel and raced out the door.

He tracked the enthralling scent through the building and through the woods onto a cliff. For a moment he felt feral, desperate to find her, to smell her scent again and look into her earthly eyes. The waterfall that ran off the cliff sparkled in the fleeting sun, and on a boulder in the middle of the river stood the golden youko; reluctantly corking his animal instincts, he recollected himself. Kurama kept his self hidden and his reiki masked, watching her, his dark blue tunic and pants hiding him in the shadows. Her back was to him, but she was enchanting nonetheless. Everything about her seemed to glow in the sunlight; her rose-gold hair fluttered in the breeze, stirring his memories of her. The gold threads in her white poncho sparkled like the glass beads woven in a few strands on her tail, and the churning waters around her.

With a great leap, a feat of her newfound strength, she landed on the rocky, mossy shore opposite him. From across the water, Kurama continued to stare. In that moment, he felt so many things he could not tell them apart: anger, spite, rejection, awe, longing, and a strange growing fascination. He had always wanted her beside him again, but they were not the same people they once were. Did he _really_ still have feelings for her? Flicking her tail in an annoyed way, she turned towards him not really paying attention to any detail in front of her; his heart leapt into his throat and he felt weak and shaky inside.

There was no doubt in his mind that his heart still ached for her. As gorgeous as she looked with her soft, warm ears and silky tail- her hair so grand- before he realized it, he was ankle-deep in the river on her side of the water, in plain view. She turned and jerked in surprise at his presence. She gave a soft 'oh,' and skipped back several paces. For what seemed like an hour, they could do nothing but stare into each other's eyes.

Gabrielle tore herself away from him, turning her back and waving her tail indifferently. "I did not know you were here, Kurama," she said softly. The fox felt his tongue glue itself to the roof of his mouth. "I had been unaware you were here either." he replied. Keeping her back to him, she turned her head and gave him a sidelong glance. "I assume you are competing in the Dark tournament. There is no other logical reason one so _collected_ would haunt such a senseless event." She stressed 'collected' sarcastically; she saw right through his mask of apathy. "Though, however long you dwell on this island, you will see little of me, if at all, as I will _not_ be participating with you."

Her cold words gnawed at him, like an insult. Then her manner softened and she turned sideways to look at him better. "I left you so abruptly, two years ago. I apologize for not staying in touch for so long; the Tantei might have needed me... If there was anything you had wanted to say to me for the past two years…" her face blushed a bit and she tilted her face to hide her mouth behind the high collar of her poncho, "Now would be the only time to say it."

_'Why did you run from me? What are you doing here? Kiss me? What have you been doing for two years? Kiss me? Which was that we shared, love or false euphoria? Kiss me?'_

"Why… why did you leave…?" _'Why did you leave _me_?'_

"I had to, for more than just myself." _'Because you didn't want me.' _"… Good-bye, Kurama." She turned away from him and walked towards the woods. Kurama stood rooted to the ground, glaring at nothing, clenching and unclenching his hands as he mentally beat the tar out of himself.

He raced forward and embraced her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her hair. "Please don't go," he begged in a whisper. "Don't leave me in anger again."

Gabrielle sighed, gently returning the embrace, "Kurama, when will we ever find time for each other?"

"Why can't we make time here? One moment would not hurt…" he said, stroking her cheek with his hand. She turned towards him, leaning into his touch, brushing her lips over his palm. "I won't lie and say I haven't wanted to see you again; I missed you," she said in a small voice.

He ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her forward into a warm, firm kiss. Gabrielle instinctively gave in to the familiar touch, but then pushed him away. He stumbled back, breathless, confused … unsatisfied…

Gabrielle held her hand over her mouth, to make sure the touch was real, to savor it. "This just doesn't feel right," Kurama's heart plummeted as she said this. "Is it so easy for us to fall back in love? Is this even real?" Gabrielle asked in a whisper, her eyes grew misty and sad; Kurama couldn't answer and he watched her sink into the earth like a shadow.

Could he convince her to love him again? Or did she still…?

///////////////////////////////////

Kurama leaned his forehead on the door to his team's suite, red hair returned. Miserable and stressed, he was too ashamed to knock on the door to be let in; he had forgotten to obtain a key before storming out on Yusuke and did not want to beg him to be let back in.

_I can't go on like this…_ he thought to his self. _I've started to drive more of my friends away because of my longing. I have to find out, even in its smallest measure, if she still …_

A sliver of light appeared before him, which quickly expanded into a blinding void, and he stumbled forward. He smacked his nose on the chest of Kuwabara, who had opened the door to find the hopeless romantic leaning on it. "Um, how long have you been leaning on the door, dude?"Kuwabara asked.

"Kurama," Yusuke walked up to the half-fox rubbing his nose.

"Yusuke, I-" he stopped short at the sight a black envelope in his hands.

"This showed up on the doorstep after you left; someone knocked but there was no one there. Its marked for you, so we didn't open it," Yusuke said, "we could go if you-"

"No; we're in this together. I don't wish to burden you with what you might see," Kurama ripped open the envelope and took out the tape, "But it's too late to pretend we aren't at war."

Kurama, Kuwabara, Yusuke and Hiei were standing present before the television in the suite, waiting for the secrets of the tape to be revealed. Static flashed cross the screen for a moment, before cutting immediately to the dark room in which Kurama's human family was imprisoned. Only Shiori was present, sitting in the chair he had seen her in before. To his relief, her shirtsleeve had been mended and she did not appear harmed in any way. Behind her was a wide screen television programmed to a local news channel and set on mute. The feed was live on the screen behind her, recorded only an hour before the tape was delivered to them as proof she was still alive.

"Suichi," her shaky voice, however did not comfort him. "They are allowing me to speak to you, but they are listening to every word I say." Her gaze shifted off camera, looking at someone who put fear in her eyes. "I'm not even sure if this video will reach you, but I don't want you to worry too much. I haven't been tortured or anything like that, but we're all _separated_. I haven't seen your father or brother in weeks-"

She suddenly flinched at something off camera, _"I'm sorry…" _she whispered fearfully to her watcher. She took a slow breath and continued. "I'm not allowed to speak of where I am or anything like that, not that I know; I've also been told that you will be a part of some kind of fight contest. Suichi… please be careful. Don't push yourself, and I love you."

The screen went black for a moment, but the video was not over. "The other members of your family are safe, Suichi," a familiar voice from the previous tape sounded. "But telling you this was not the purpose of the tape. I've decided to give you a little heads up on the creatures you will be fighting tomorrow,-"

"Tomorrow?!" Kuwabara whispered to himself. Yusuke held up a hand to silence him but Kurama didn't seem to hear.

"The team you will face are tough opponents, but if you use your head, I'm certain you can overcome them." The screen flashed over a series of faces. The five opponents they would face the next day were a brutish band of ogre-like people. They all resembled the soul-sucking Oni Gouki in their thick brows and jutting under-bite. "These are the Troll-and-Brawl siblings. They don't look very smart, and believe me, they aren't, but they are nearly unstoppable in terms of physical strength. Their strength ranges from lower to upper B-class."

"Why is this person helping us?" Kurama murmured aloud.

A dark chuckle emanated from the screen, "You will see soon enough, Suichi," what spooked the fox was that the voice answered him in real time, as if negating the effect of a recorded message.

"Be patient you curious creature," the voice added almost sensuously, "and if you do well, you may earn the opportunity to see your family face to face, if only for a little while."

"You bastard!" Yusuke growled. Another shot of Shiori appeared, looking forlornly around a darkened, empty room.

"Tut, tut, detective. Such a nasty attitude towards someone who happens to be doing you a favor! Be grateful I did not find your own beloved human pets nearly as entertaining I did Suichi's. Farewell for now!" the sensuous voice chuckled and the screen turned off. The VCR ejected the tape automatically, which then turned to sand and disappeared.

Kurama sank to his knees. "At least I know they are alive," he breathed wearily. He felt one weight lift from his shoulders at the news of her wellbeing, only for another of greater weight to replace it at the notion of earning a chance to see her. "To get to see my family, we not only have to defeat our opponents, we have to crush them. It is unfair enough that I ask you all to fight in this damned mad-house for my own needs-"

"Kurama," Kuwabara interrupted the other redhead, "You heard whoever that was; he just thinks this is all a game. He chose your family at random for his own amusement. All of ours are in danger as well; they always were."

"He chose me because I am selfish, Kuwabara," the fox nearly growled, his expression unreadable beneath his flaming bangs. 'Because I am selfish…'

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Will Try to update more than once a year, we swears on the Precious! Q _Q


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